Cycle covers



H. E. KALTER CYCLE COVERS Filed Aug. 18, 1958 INVENTOR. Hero/o E. Ka/fer United States Patent 3,132,?69 CYCLE QQVERS Harold E. Kalter, Elyria, Ghio, assigner to Troxel Manufacturing Company, Elyria, Shin, a ccrporation cf @hio Filed Aug. 1%, 1958, Ser. No. 755,453 1 Claim. (Cl. 297-4514) My invention relates to saddles and relates more particularly to saddles of the general type employed on cycles.

My invention specifically is an improvement over United States Letters Patent 1,979,533, issued August 14, 1934 to J. W. Brandt. The Brandt saddle consisted of a frame of generally pear form having its peripheral edge bent upwardly to receive the peripheral portions of an outer cover of leather or like material, the extreme peripheral edge of the cover being disposed within and embraced by the up-turned peripheral portion of the frame.

The improved cycle saddle cover of my invention is preferably constructed of a metal frame having a plastic or similar covering therefor, said covering having a pcripheral edge provided with laterally protruding means adapted to be wedgingly seated within an upturned peripheral edge of the saddle frame.

It is an object of my invention to provide an improved saddle of the class referred to.

It is a further object of my invention to provide an improved means for securing the outer saddle cover to the saddle frame.

Another object of my invention is to provide a saddle of the class referred to wherein the saddle cover may be secured to the frame without stitching and whereby the appearance may be rendered more aesthetic.

Another object of my invention is to provide a saddle of the class referred to wherein the peripheral portions of the saddle may be secured to peripheral portions of the saddle frame in an improved manner.

Another object of my invention is to provide an improved assembly of saddle frame and cover which will not have a tendency to dislodgement upon weight being applied to the saddle.

A still further object of my invention is to provide a saddle of the type referred to which will be economical to manufacture and assemble, and highly eflicient in use.

Other objects of my invention and the invention itself will become more readily apparent by reference to the following description and the accompanying drawings, in which said drawings:

FIG. 1 is a top plan view of a cycle saddle having my improved cover mounted thereupon;

FIG. 2 is a side View of said saddle;

FIG. 3 is a section taken along the line 3-3 of FIG. 1;

FIG. 4 is an enlarged detail of an edge portion of the saddle as seen in FIG. 3;

FIG. 5 is a view similar to FIG. 4 showing another embodiment of my invention; and

FIG. 6 is a section of the edge of the cover as shown in FIG. 5.

Referring now to the drawings, I have shown at 1 a saddle frame formed from a sheet of thin metal preferably by cutting and stamping operations. The frame is preferably of pear form and is provided with peripheral edges generally bent downwardly for a relatively short distance at the pommel end of the saddle as shown at 2 and in the particular embodiment illustrated, for a greater distance proceeding toward the cantle end of the saddle as indicated at 3. The edges 2 and 3 are uniformly turned upwardly a short distance around the entire saddle frame to provide a peripheral, outwardly disposed channel 4.

ice

A pad 5 of felt, rubber or the like cushioning material, formed peripherally to fit the upper surfaces of the saddle frame, may be used; and a flexible cover 6, preferably of a plastic such as vinyl or polyethylene and moulded to conform to the saddle frame, may be placed upon the saddle over said pad or placed directly over the saddle frame. Said cover is provided with a preferably outwardly disposed head 7 said bead extending around the entire periphery of the moulded cover, and in the form shown the head is disposed adjacent a downwardly directed edge 6a. The head 7 is of such thickness as to be adapted to wedgingly seat within the upturned channel 4 of the saddle frame, and said channel is then crimped over said bead to enclose the same. The bead then exerts a compressive outwardly expansive effort against the enclosing peripheral surfaces of the channel 4, thus holding the cover 6 tightly over the saddle frame assembly 1.

In FIGS. 5 and 6 I show a modification of the invention of FIGS. 1-4 in which the downwardly directed edges 12 of the saddle frame 11 are provided with a bead 14 formed in any suitable manner such as by tightly rolling a small portion of said edges as shown in FIG. 5. The bead 14 may be rolled either inwardly or outwardly, the inward roll of the accompanying drawing having the advantage of providing a smooth, outer appearance.

As in the first embodiment of my invention, the frame 11 may be provided with a pad or cushion 15 over which a cover 16 may be tightly fitted. Said cover is provided with an inwardly turned channel 17 adapted to fit complementarily over the bead 14 to hold said cover firmly in place. In this form, the cover 16 completely encases all exposed metallic areas of the saddle frame 11.

The bead 7 of the first embodiment (FIGS. 1-4) provides a definite advantage in the cover 6 over that shown in the above referred to Brandt patent. The channel 4 is enabled to grip the said cover tightly without the extreme rim 4a of said channel being pressed into the plastic cover 6. This eliminates the danger of the rim 4a cutting 'the cover 6 while at the same time said cover cannot be displaced because the bead 7 cannot pass between said rim and the downwardly directed edge portion 2. The compressive effort of the crimped channel 4 is, therefore, expanded against the bead 7.

By reversing the arrangement and providing the channel in the cover instead of the saddle frame, a very inexpensive and easily assembled covering is attained.

It will be understood that many changes in the details of my invention may be made, such as changes in size and dimension without departing from the spirit thereof or the scope of the appended claim.

I claim: I

A cycle saddle comprising a saddle shaped sheet metal frame member and a complementarily shaped flexible cover member therefor, said flexible cover having wedge means integrally formed therewith, said frame having integrally formed means for wedgingly engaging said wedge means whereby said cover member is tautly secured on the frame member.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,970,533 Brandt Aug. 14, 1934 FOREIGN PATENTS 351,034 Great Britain June 22, 1931 418,356 Italy Feb. 15, 1947 510,368 Italy Jan. 21, 1955 1,048,181 France July 29, 1953 

